Shiva's Forest
by muffinelf
Summary: The Brotherhood boys's lives are changed when a new mutant comes to live with them, one with most unusual abilities...future slash
1. Lunch Meat

Author's Note: So yea, here is a little story 'bout a little character I've been thinking up. She's defiantly not your run of the mill mutant, I'll give her that much. Yes I am horrible with tenses. Sorry, I'm an art student, not a literary major. As always review please.

Shiva's Forest

Chapter 1

"And it was not until nine months later that Queen Mary realized the swollen belly and morning sickness had not been the symptoms of pregnancy, of a blessed gift from God. It was in fact a large child-sized tumor growing in her abdomen." With these words the tragic lesson on Bloody Mary was over, at least for today.

_Joy_. Todd sighed, though not quite able to repress the sardonic grin on his too wide mouth. _A tumor. A friggin tumor, yo. _His grin faded as his eyes caught the brown haired boy's gaze to his right and was replaced by the humbled expression of one who suddenly realizes the sad irony of what has been placed before him. The parallels between one's own situation and that of a seemingly alien one can be harshly poignant when realized.

"For the next lesson you must try to realize the disgust and horror Mary felt when what she thought was her own child turned out to be nothing more then a parasitic glob of flesh." The teacher continued, her tone of voice not adequately reflecting the words she spoke, at least not for Todd or Lance.

_Are we just like that, just tumors? Sick little jokes from God sent to punish the world? Seemingly normal until we are looked at closely, seemingly precious human beings until we are seen as atrocities extracted and disregarded from society's collective womb?_

"We'll start with the downfall of Mary next class, and the beginnings of the Elizabethan Age next week," The teacher Ms. Township concluded, giving the class the greatest blessing she could bestow upon them…her silence.

Todd's cynical mind pulled itself out of its introspection and into the thoughts of the upcoming weekend, it was Friday after all. It wasn't that he didn't like the class. No, it was more that he liked being out of class so much better. Yes that was it precisely. No hard feelings towards Ms Township, it was just the freedom of the hallway was far more enticing then the monotonous droning coming from her disturbingly hairy face.

Altogether he was quite pleased when the bell rang out its song at 11:50, signaling the change from British History Class to the Science of Eating Class or lunch as some choose to call it. Teachers didn't even attempt to get another word in once that bell rang; they acknowledged its power; stripping them of any hold they might have had on the automaton students before them. None dared to stand up against that auditory cue turning the class's zombie like stares into a frantic race to the door.

Like a giant wave of smelly adolescent bodies they rushed the doorway, bottlenecking in its frame before splurging out the other side and dispersing to the open waters of the hallway. It was a dangerous path to take right after the bell rang and Todd wasn't one for crowds or being jostled about like a two-legged potato sack for that matter. No, he would let them madly rush to their escape and wait calmly for the rest of the class to evacuate the room before attempting to get out of his seat and follow in their wake. It was only a few seconds to wait anyways, no big difference.

To his right Lance sat solemn and impassive, long legs sticking out from under his desk to rest on the seat in front of him. It certainly wouldn't have been hard for the tall boy to push his way through the crowd. No one would push him back, no one would dare to. His dark looks and maniacal grins were enough to grant him first place in the line out. No, he didn't stay for fear of a little pushing or shoving, he stayed for Todd, his friend, his brother. It wasn't that he felt the need to protect him…no…or not really anyway. He just enjoyed the company of a fellow mutant with the outgoing personality he himself lacked. Friends were few for his kind, and for Lance they seemed to be even fewer and far more fleeting, so he spent as much time with the friends he did have as possible. Not to mention Duncan and his cronies always tried to beat Todd's lunch money out of him right before lunch, so it probably was a good thing he came along.

The last of the crowd finally exited the room and the odd pair sauntered their way into the hall. Of course, Todd wouldn't have been sauntering if Lance wasn't towering above him at his side. He was usually more of a slinking guy when it came to going through the hallway to the lunch room. Staying out of the main people flow to keep from getting pushed around. Walking alongside Lance guaranteed a welcome relief from bumps and shoves and "outta the way slimeball"s. People rant into him without acknowledgment all the time, but certainly not with Avalanche there. Kids stayed clear of him; especially after last month with that football player…Those who hadn't experienced his explosive temper had heard about it.

So when Todd's stride was broken by the impact of another guy's body he was quite taken aback. The guy had appeared out of nowhere, racing down the hall, clipping Todd's shoulder and knocking the Toad down in the process. Todd was far more startled when the blond perpetrator turned back around on a dime, red faced and apologizing profusely.

"Gee, ah god, um I'm sorry! I was just…in a hurry, wasn't watching were I was going and all." The boy reached down to pick up the fallen books Todd had dropped. "I'm real sorry." He said again, handing a biology 2 book to Todd's moist hands. The boy was still quite pink in the cheeks and nervously pushed the shaggy ash blonde hair out of his eyes before stepping back a bit away from Todd.

The guy looked pretty embarrassed, so Todd tried to assure the kid all was cool. "Uh…it's okay yo, no worries here." Todd flashed a slightly yellow smile of forgiveness towards the teen, a rather unconvincing smile to say the least. Though not because he wasn't alright just that he was a bit surprised. Todd wasn't used to apologies; he was the Toad after all.

The boy seemed to take the smile as one of ill will and made a hasty retreat, calling "Sorry again! Uh…bye!" over his shoulders and turning around a corner to disappear from view.

"Well. That was kinda odd yo." Todd said slowly with a cocked eyebrow at Lance. His friend looked puzzled as well.

"Huh. Never seen him before. Maybe he's new." With that Lance put his calloused hands in his jean pockets and kept walking towards the cafeteria. The whole situation out of sight and out of mind for the rock tumbler. He didn't much care whether a kid was new or not. He had pretty much met everyone he wanted to know.

Todd glanced at the path the boy had taken and turned to follow Lance. "I guess. Leastways he got himself a little bit of courtesy." Todd said more to himself then to his tall friend.

Lance grinned sardonically. "Must really be new then. I'm sure once he learns who we are he wont be so damn polite." Lance said with a hollow laugh that rang all to true.

"Yea, you're right. People never are."

"So, what's on the menu today ladies?" a silver haired lady's man cooed, leaning forward on his elbows to move his flitting eyelashes closer to the lunch ladies across the buffet. "Anything special for me?"

The new lunch lady blushed against her will and self consciously adjusted her hair net unnecessarily. She stuttered at the senior's winning smile, "Uh well we-"

"Sugar free only boy. Special orders from the principal, all sugar free. You aint sweet talking your way to the sweets this time kid." A large woman in a stained apron scolded him with a voice like a cheese grater and a face to match, interrupting the younger woman and setting out the fresh puddings. The sugar free puddings. She gave a final distasteful look at the albino teen before waddling her way back to the kitchens.

"Eh well. Better luck next time I suppose" Pietro straightened his back with a crack and a wink towards the abashed lunch woman before donning a dejected look and walking back to his friends table. Of course not before using his "god-given talent" to nab a few jellos and puddings right under the nose of the distracted lunch lady.

Walking back with the stolen goods was easier then you might think, especially when you have a jacket you sewed 50 or so odd inner pockets onto.

"Ah, gelatin, food of the gods I say." Pietro said with his usual dramatic flair before plopping down on the stool next to Freddy.

"Hey Pie, got something for me?" Fred questioned with a playful push at his smaller friend.

Pietro groaned as he rubbed his arm after Blob's unintentionally harsh shove. "Jee Freddy, forget you strength much?"

"Uh…sorry Pietro." Blob twiddled his pudgy fingers, "…so?"

"yeayeayea, here." Pietro slide some jello Fred's way with mock disgust. His attention quickly shifted Todd and Lance's way. "So, ready to party tonight fellas?"

"Thank god it's Friday, yo. That's all I'm saying!" Todd laughed.

"Were gonna rock this city tonight guys!" Lance chided in with his usual stunning vocabulary.

The guys grinned at once at the pathetic rock pun. Even the stoic Lance chuckled at his own expense.

Lance cleared his throat after the brief moment of mutual amusement, "seriously though, you got the booze right Pietro?"

The speedy mutant feigned a deeply disappointed face. "Seriously now, you aren't actually questioning wither The Pietro did his job, are you?" He shook his head slowly saying "I feel so disappointed in your lack of faith Mr. Alvers."

"Okay, okay! I gotcha." Lance rolled his brown eyes and lifted his hands in defense. Pietro smiled triumphantly.

""Tha wampa bouch witty, jou wonna bwite er?" Spittle flew from Freddy's' immense maw like so many saliva filled bullets.

"What you saying Fred?" Todd shouted from under the table where he had ducked to take cover from Fred's spit attack.

Fred swallowed the mess of green jello down to his substantial gut before speaking again, clearer this time. "So what about Kitty, you gonna invite her to the party tonight?"

Todd and Pietro winced in unison, the former maintaining his position of safety under the table. Safety from Lance's all too volcanic emotions.

"No." They heard Lance say after a long pause, with enough ice in his voice to pose a real threat to Iceman himself.

Oblivious to the tonal indications of his friend Fred continued on the dangerous road he had chosen. "Huh, why not, though you always wanted her around and stuff. If Jean was all goo-goo eyed over me like she is for you I'd have her around all the time."

Pietro cleared his throat and turned purposefully in his seat to avoid looking at the dark haired youth across from him. With a whistle of 'I'm not listening, I'm not involved, don't get me into this conversation," he took refuge in checking out the Junior girls walking to the table across from him.

Todd stepped hard on Freddy's foot from under the table to hopefully exterminate the situation before it got out of hand.

"Umpf!" Freddy sputtered, looking up from his jello for the first time, catching Lance's cold stare and realizing his stupidity. "Gosh, sorry buddy," Fred squeaked, running a thick set of fingers over his mohawk in embarrassment. "I forgot man."

The big boy's sincere shame melted Lance's frigid mindset and he gave Freddy a simple smile. The guys new Lance and Kitty were…well, dynamic at best. Sometimes they were okay, hanging out and enjoying each others company. Sometimes things were a bit bumpy, yelling and fighting about this or that, even if they never truly 'dated'. Right now though, things were rough. Lance had wanted to date the valley girl, ignore Xavier and Mystique's warnings and threats and just go for it.

Basically what the guys got from it was Kitty wasn't down with the whole idea, to hung up on what others thought about her associating with a 'hoodlum' to risk it. They had never seen Lance so dejected before, and the two hadn't spoken since.

The uneasy silence of the usually rambunctious table was broken by an excited exclamation of "Hey!" from Pietro. "Check that shit out." The Brotherhood lifted their heads and turned to where Pietro was pointing a well manicured finger. To a place they all knew too well, The X-men's table.

"X-geeks Pie, so what?" Blob growled with furrowed brows.

Pietro shook his finger with vigor towards the 'gifted students' again, pointing out the tall decently built student sitting between Evan and Scott. "That."

"Hey," Todd leaned forward to get a better look at the guy. "That's the dude that ran into me in the hall Lance."

"Your right. Fuck, that's all we need now, another X-geek to preach at us." Lance spat out.

"Maybe he's not a mutant, maybe their just chatting him up." Todd suggested as he watched the table closely. The subject in question sat quite awkwardly at the table, his eyes shifting nervously, looking anywhere but at whoever was talking to him. Todd couldn't make out what was being said, but the boy seemed to be reluctantly nodding his head at Scott, his hands clasped tightly in his lap, his Rainbow clad feet tapping a rhythmless beat on the tile.

Kitty batted her eyelashes in what was her attempt at seduction of the new blonde visitor. This caused Lance to frown in jealousy before quickly turning his head aside when he realized Pietro was grinning in his wicked way at his discomfiture. "Like hell they're chatting him up! He's sitting at the loser's table, and that can only mean one thing. Those guys are too high and mighty to bother themselves with anyone outside their little 'training school' unless they want to recruit their ass."

No one spoke up to dismiss or object to Lance's statement. The matter was settled for the guys now. If he was an X-Man then they'd give him what they gave to all the X-Men. They'd give him hell.

The bell rang all too soon for the Brotherhood and the rest of the student body. Todd watched as the young man with the sharp nose and nervous blue eyes stood up too quickly and nearly tripped over his own feet as he waved a hasty goodbye to his table. Todd proceeded to hop from his chair and yell a "Catch you later," to his friends. He was off to math class now, unfortunately with no Lance at his side. _Bummer._

End of Chapter 1

AN: The Bloody Mary thing is true and kind of freaky…okay. So the main character hasn't been really introduced yet. She will next chapter though. It's finished. The title's a clue about her...


	2. Sunrise, Sunset

Author's Note: Finally. The main character.

Chapter 2

"But Jess, I thought…I thought you loved me! How could you sl-CLICK." The glow from the antique television was extinguished and the dilapidated Victorian house appeared gloomier then ever. The only relief from the musty darkness the small lines of light coming through the dusty wooden blinds. The Scarlet Witch sighed with exasperation as she fell backwards onto the couch, throwing the remote aside as she did so. The clatter of dirty dishes reverberating from their encounter with the thrown remote only furthered her sigh on to a whole new level of vexation.

The jaded young woman ran a pale hand over her brow and squeezed her eyes shut. Today was not her day, then again, when was it ever her day? She had a raging migraine stomping around in her cerebellum with intent to knock her out, Freddy had finished off the last of the kitchen's meager pickings last night, and she was officially forbidden to leave the house to get the much needed groceries! No, according to the blue bitch she had far more important matters to attend to. Those matters coming in the package of an 18 year old girl from Florida who would be arriving all too soon. Well, she was assuming she was around 18 anyway; Mystique hadn't exactly been forthcoming with information on the girl. She didn't know the girl's story, what she looked like, or why in god's name she agreed to join their motley crew of losers. She knew only what Mystique had told her on the phone that morning after Lance had driven everyone to school in his lemon of a jeep:

"No you may not leave the house"

"I don't care if your freaking starving to death over there girl, we need someone to be here when she arrives."

"No you-well, yes but-No! Just show her the house, give her a room and try not to throw a hexing hissy fit."

"For-don't ask her anything. She's had a rough time…I guess. Just try to be…understanding or helpful or something. And don't even think about letting her fight with you and the boys, not until I get back on Tuesday."

"Yes. That's fine. Good, see that's done then. Oh, and Wanda…don't scare her off, okay? We need all the bodies we can get to keep up with Xavier, CLICK."

Wanda rolled her eyes in remembrance of the earlier conversation. One sided as it was. _At least it's not another fucking teenage boy_. She wasn't to sure she could have dealt with another lazy guy in the house. Unwashed dishes, clothes, unmade beds, random slime dripping from the ceiling at the worst possible moments. No she would probably have had to kill herself if it was another guy.

The doorbell cut the silence of the house and Wanda took one last look at the empty refrigerator. _As long as she isn't a 400 pound immovable eating machine…_Wanda cleared her minds of such thoughts before reaching a steady hand out to open the door, the unbearable screeching of rusty door hinges piercing her skull and making her calmness all but disappear. A pretty young woman stood expectantly at the door, book bag slung over a shoulder, luggage situated at her feet.

Wanda cocked a dark eyebrow unconsciously at the girl. Her shirt was a little to revealing for her own taste, a tight brown knit sweater cut low to reveal a lacey cami and the curve of two breasts. Well…that could be forgiven; Wanda smiled, _if she keeps the boys away from me._

"Um…" the blonde at the doorstep stammered before overcoming her shyness with hasty words, twirling a strand of curly hair around her finger unconsciously. "I went to the high school earlier to kinda check it out, you know? I left my luggage in my car."

Wanda perked up. A car? That was a plus. At least she wouldn't have to be passenger in that god awful jeep anymore. "Well, I'm Wanda. Sorry you had to visit that hellhole first off."

"Oh, it doesn't seem so bad. Sorry I'm late, just got sidetracked seeing the school and all." The teen smiled abashedly at Wanda and shifted her weight from one hip to the other in an uncomfortable silence. She looked around slowly, taking in the full expanse of the boarding home before turning her attention back to Wanda. Wanda meanwhile continued to look behind her guest, searching for the car. The visitor cleared her throat.

"Huh? Oh yea. Well this is it. The infamous Brotherhood Boarding House for hopeless delinquents…and me." Wanda waved her arm like a magician at a stage show. She watched the expression on the girls face as she took it all in, remembering her own, rather heated first visit.

A shingle made that its opportune moment to slip out of place and fall clattering down the roof and into the side yard. _Typical._

"Ummmm…seems nice?" The girl's statement really more of a question then anything.

Wanda laughed at the girl's false enthusiasm. "Oh come on, let's face it, the house is a fucking shit hole. But it keeps the rain out," Wanda rethought her statement before adding "if you stay on the east side of the house that is."

The two teens smiled genuinely at each other this time, wiping themselves clean of false expectations and pretenses. Wanda quickly snuffed out the uncharacteristic smile from her face before turning her back to the girl and leading the way in. "Come on in." _Welcome to my personal nightmare…_

After a not so lengthy tour of the house Wanda led Jordan, she finally coaxed the girl's name out after calling her 'girl' one time too many, to the room she would stay in. Luckily for the Brotherhood, their home had indeed been a boarding house at one time or another and thus had far more bedrooms then one would expect from a typical two story building. Wanda could only hope the time would never come when she would be forced to share a room with someone. Luckily there were still 3 rooms left before something that drastic would happen.

The raven haired mutant stayed at the door as her charge walked inside. "It's not much but you'll be next to my room if you need anything. And not next to the guy's thankfully. They stay downstairs."

"Oh, I didn't know there were guys here!" Jordan exclaimed as she sat lightly down on the twin bed before her, testing its buoyancy and spring with a bounce of her body.

"Uhuh, four guys too many, including my good for nothing brother." Wanda snorted in reply. "Have a problem with it? Though I suppose I couldn't much blame you for it, knowing these guys."

"Oh, no! No problem at all, I just didn't know there would be guys is all. Not a bad thing." She turned eyes the color of blue delphiniums to meet Wanda's own and winked. "As long as they're cute that is."

_Cute, sure. Just fucking adorable the lot of them_. The bitter teen kept her comments to herself however, and was rewarded by Jordan dropping the subject all together. She watched the other adolescent stretch out on the plush bed, kicking off her sandals and dropping her lids until they were just barely open, azure pupils peering out from behind long mascara coated lashes.

She spoke softly in a voice scarcely audible to Wanda standing half a room away "It's great. Its all great, At least I feel secure here, people like me…you know? Its weird, I've never really been around other mutants before, but it feels good at the same time. It's like I've come to a home I never really knew until now. Maybe that's stupid but…I just have a feeling things will work out." Jordan allowed one eye to open and glance towards Wanda, gauging a reaction.

Wanda felt out of place and self-conscious listening to these words from a girl she had only known for 20 minutes. _I've never been good at this emotional stuff,_ the gothic girl thought. She didn't really know how to bond or share feelings or any of that lovey dovey rainbow and unicorns crap. She didn't know and she didn't particularly care to know.

She fiddled with one of her bracelets for a brief moment of unspoken awkwardness before making her way out the door, keeping one steadying hand on the doorframe to say "If you need anything, you know where I am." _There's the support you wanted Mystique. Eat it up._ The door closed and Wanda left Jordan to her own devices.

"Get out of the road you goddamn hooligans!" Old man McRae shouted at the top of his smoke desecrated lungs, waving a formidable cane high above his toupeed head.

The teens in the speeding car laughed aloud, gripping white knuckled to the seat head rests to keep from flying about as Lance careened past the old man. A cloud of exhaust left the already winded geezer coughing in their tracks.

"Wahoo!" Lance roared in exhilaration as they rounded the corner of Saint Mark and West Haven. The old jeep leaned precariously on two wheels for a brief second before slamming back down to all four and whipping around the intersection.

Pietro grinned as the wind whipped through his streamlined hair, causing his bangs to flutter like so many seagulls. He turned to face the driver beside him and spread his thin lips further out in a deranged smile that only fueled Lance's insane driving. Lance matched his passengers signal with a grin of his own as he leaned forward in his seat closer to the wheel, nose nearly making contact with the cool plastic of the steering wheel. _Don't mind if I do Pietro, don't mind if I do._

Todd was thrown across the seat into Fred's oversized gut like a stunt man falling into an air filled safety float as Avalanche pulled a burnout in the street. Satisfied with his tire marked masterpiece Lance reversed at a speed most would consider dangerous, or at the very least precarious, into the spacious driveway of the boarding house.

The riders were thrown forward at the sudden braking as Lance parked and turned off the ignition, putting the keys back into his jean pocket. Lance stepped out of the red vehicle triumphantly with a fond pat to the hood. "Good old Jeep. Never let me down do ya?"

"Uggh! Wouldn't mind a car with seatbelts, yo. I'm sick 'a being stuck in Blob's bellybutton every time you feels the need to 'rock the road'. Ruins my whole day, for real." This complaint was from Todd of course, the one who usually ended up flying back and forth during Lance's antics. His golden eyes lit up further when he looked past the object of his disaffection to see the clean white Avalon sitting further up the driveway, partially obscured by the holly bushes alone either side of the pavement's curving path. The other three followed Todd's inquisitive gaze to the strange car, exchanged glances with each other, and began running towards the strange vehicle.

Wanda stood, arms folded across her chest, legs spread and braced. All together she was quite an imposing sight, her aggressive stare and cuffed wrists only adding to the picture. She was what stood between the staircase to upstairs and the downstairs kitchen, an effective roadblock to the Brotherhood boys. She was keeping them and their curious little selves from making any unwelcome ventures upstairs to their new teammate's resting place.

"Aw, come on schnookums, we aint gonna pull anything! We just wanna check her out, see what's going on sweetums."

"Yea, she hot Wanda? Huh? Huh? Isshehotorsexyorcuteortallorshortorblondeorburnette- ororororororwhattellustellustellus!"

"Can she cook?"

"What's her deal?

"Just a peak toots; don't be jealous, you know you-!"

"ENOUGH!" The boy's unbridled enthusiasm was quickly tamed as Wanda took another deep breath. _Not to shout this time, I'll speak slowly and calmly as one would to so many kindergarten children_. "Look, I don't know what her deal is, nor do I frankly care. She actually seems like a normal kid, unlike some people I know." She followed this with an accusing finger towards the boys. "She's resting and Mystique expects her to remain resting and unbothered until she gets back. Now if you want to wake her up and disobey Mystique then fine, but don't think for a moment she wont use that dissention as an excuse to rip your over productive testicles from you miserable little groins and force feed them to you in a casserole. Got it?"

Lance blinked. Fred shifted his immense bulk away from the stairs. Pietro gulped and sped away to the living room to immerse himself in some much needed television. Wanda allowed herself the briefest of satisfactory smiles before marching her triumphant way up the creaking stairs to her own room. She wasn't one for words, really. She much preferred the more physical path her hexing took. However she did realize the occasional power of words.

Especially when a threat was involved.

Before slipping into her own room for some solitude and music she stopped in front of Jordan's door. She allowed herself a peak through the keyhole into Jordan's room. All seemed normal, the new girl laying asleep, still in her jeans and sweater atop the comforter.

"Enjoy the solitude while it lasts girl."

Jordan awoke a few hours later to the last lingering of the sun through her streaked window. Pink and orange reflections from clouds decorated the sky as the sun sank from view. When she was young she used to cry when the sun sank, when the sun died. Her mother told her that whenever it sank from her own window, it rose at another little girl's window on the other side of the world. This always dried her tears, always made it better. _Every end has a beginning_ She barely had time to bring herself back from past reveries before reality crashed into her room. A silver blur whipped through the door around her room to stop suddenly in front of her four poster bed

Jordan swung around from looking out the window to face the early guest, desperately pulling up her covers in a vain attempt to conceal the exposed skin from possible roaming eyes. She managed to get the comforter up to her chin in enough time to prevent to much embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed with pink flames of discomfort. _God, I can't believe I'm blushing…_

The white haired boy at the foot of her bed allowed himself a cocky grin before bowing deeply with a quite unnecessary flair and announcing "Dinner is served!" in a horribly clichéd butler accent. He stood up straight and added "Down the stairs and to the left. In case you forgot where the kitchen was." With another flash of silver the skinny boy was gone, leaving fluttering papers in his wake.

_Well…apparently I slept a bit longer then I thought_. She hadn't wanted to sleep the afternoon away. She didn't realize she had been tired enough to sleep. _Apparently I was tired. Apparently. _She had only meant to lay down on the welcome plush of her new bed for a few minutes, absorbing the new environment she had migrated to.

It defiantly was cooler here then in Florida. Cooler by far, she had to unpack one of her sweaters from the black clothing bag in her trunk before she walked from her car to the door of her new home. At least she had everything easily accessible; she was told to expect the cooler climate by the Raven woman who gave her directions and gas money.

The trip had taken quite awhile and the gas money was invaluable as she had to refill her tank quite a few times along the way. All in all the drive hadn't been that bad. A chance to be by herself, listen to music, eat crappy truck stop food. Well, that last part hadn't been to enjoyable. But at least she hadn't gotten sick…too sick anyway.

Her mind turned from travel food to the promise from the albino boy of food downstairs. She sniffed the air as she got out from the tangle of blankets. _Well_, she mused, _at least it smells good_. _Can't say much more about it till I go look at it. If it looks edible then I'll give it a thorough tasting._ She smiled at her own skepticism. But who wouldn't be skeptical of the cooking creations of 4 boys alone in a house?

Jordan slipped into a less revealing pair of sweatpants and a nightshirt. She fought back a blush from the remembrance of her housemate catching her in just her panties staring, in what must have looked a most vacant way, at the sunset. She firmly promised herself they wouldn't catch her off guard like that again. _Got to get used to staying in close quarters with other people; with boys. Especially now…_her mind tried to wander off to uncomfortable territory but was halted by force of will and turned around to focus on food.

Food. Food was a safe thought Jordan told herself as she padded barefoot to the door of her room. Peering out left and then right for signs of what she didn't know, Jordan stepped out of the relative safety of the bedroom into the open hall.

Barely one timid foot had placed itself firmly on the wood floor before it was sent flying off like a tree frog losing suction with a leap. Jordan caught herself with a well placed arm on the doorknob, preventing herself from landing square on her bottom.

She watched shaken as a dirty blonde haired boy leaped by, oblivious to the near fall he had caused her. She watched surprised at what seemed to be a young teen hurtling through the hallway towards food, what normally be a common domestic scene, turned bizarre by the fact that he appeared to be…hopping. On all fours. Her puzzlement turned to amazement as she watched him traverse the final seven steps in one mighty leap to land almost naturally at the bottom and continue on his way.

Jordan sucked in a little breath. She had heard about all the different things other mutants could do, but she had yet to see it in real life. The speed of the earlier mutant had been overshadowed by her embarrassment at his spying her nude form lost in thought. She was expecting it, but not quite prepared for it all. Their powers were just so…different from hers, much more interesting and remarkable at least.

She pondered over these things as she followed the steps down to the first floor, turned left and faced her first formal introduction to the Brotherhood Boys…

AN: next chapter pretty much finished: Jordan's intro to the boys, a party at the b-house, Pietro in a slump….Maybe we'll actually see Jordan's powers, eh? Like I said the title is a clue to Jordan's "gifts". If you think you know….then guess away!


End file.
